The Taste of Tears
by NY BrAt 007
Summary: Jackie Gayda Finished. Parents are always supposed to be the proudest of their child's accomplishments, right? Not the parents of Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Jackie Gayda. Song-fic.
1. Trish Stratus

Title: Taste of Tears  
  
Copyright: "Perfect" is property of Simple Plan  
  
Chapter: One - Trish Stratus  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
*  
  
Hey dad, look at me  
  
Think back and talk to me  
  
Did I grow up according to plan?  
  
*  
  
Trish sat in the middle of the ring with a perplexed look on her face. Her eyes were trained to the couple celebrating the victory up the ramp; and then more importantly to the belt-her belt-being held high over Victoria's head while her psycho boyfriend paraded behind her in his stupid hot pink shorts and even stupider hot pink hat. "What happened?" She asked the referee who had knelt beside her to see if she was alright.  
  
"Victoria won the Woman's Championship back from you." He clarified, holding out his hand.  
  
Trish took his hand and pulled herself up and leaned against the top ropes, trying to remember what exactly did just happen. I was doing good, Victoria got groggy after a few elbow punches and a high kick but she didn't go down so I swung my arm around her neck and jumped against the ropes, executing a pretty decent Stratusfaction. I did one pose for the crowd and turned around to find I was getting hit by my very own belt. I saw a flash of hot pink slide out of the ring and I felt her grab the back of my pants and rolled me up for a quick three count.  
  
"They cheated!" She said indignantly, ignoring the cameras which had been turned off during the commercials. "That bastard hit me with the belt!"  
  
"Nothing we can do, I didn't see it happen." The referee replied back.  
  
Pouting her lips, Trish stepped carefully out of the ring and smiled a little bit for the crowd, even though they'd been the ones responsible.  
  
*  
  
And do you think I'm wasting my time  
  
Doing things I wanna do?  
  
But it hurts when you disapprove all along  
  
*  
  
She tossed her jacket casually over one shoulder and pushed past the heavy, black velvet curtains separating the audience from everything else that went on backstage. "Great match Vic!" She called out half-heartedly.  
  
"Thanks, you too Trish!" The raven-haired diva answered back with a big grin, slinging her now most prized possession over her shoulder.  
  
Trish grabbed a bottle of water off of a passing cart and pressed it against her forehead, trying to cool down a little bit.  
  
"Ever think of getting into the acting business Trish? I have some connections you can use"  
  
She looked over in the general direction of the voice and raced over when she saw who it was, throwing her arms around his neck.  
  
"Wow, I should be gone more often huh?" The Rock said with a smile as she pulled back away from him.  
  
"I didn't think you were supposed to be back for a few more weeks!" She exclaimed, pushing some blonde hair back from her face as she looked up at him happily.  
  
He laughed and shrugged dismissively. "So filming wrapped up a little bit early and I thought I'd take a trip out here to see what y'all were up to. By the way, I loved that little pouty face ya did out there."  
  
"Oh that one was especially for you." She teased as they began walking down the hallway. She stopped at the girl's locker room and gave him an expectant look.  
  
"What? I'm in Hollywood now! There ain't anything in there I haven't seen."  
  
"You're too much." She said, shaking her head. She pushed by him into the room and shut it firmly behind her.  
  
*  
  
And now I try hard to make it  
  
I just want to make you proud  
  
I'm never gonna be good enough for you  
  
Can't pretend that I'm all right  
  
And you can't change me  
  
*  
  
"Trish, somebody was trying to get a hold of you but we didn't know if you wanted us to answer it or not." Lita said to her as soon as the blonde stepped into the room. "Was that Dwayne?"  
  
Trish nodded absent-mindedly as she searched for the phone inside of her bag. "Yeah, he's back a little bit early; wanted to see what we were all up to." She found the phone and furrowed her eyebrows when she saw the number on the caller ID.  
  
"Something wrong?" Lita asked.  
  
"I don't think so. It's just my mom." She replied, punching in the familiar number. She paused and then grinned when she heard her mother's voice on the other end. "Hey Mom, what's up?"  
  
"Trish I, I need you to get over here as soon as you can." She managed out, trying not to start sobbing.  
  
"Why, what's wrong?" Trish asked in a panicked voice. Lita heard her friend and her eyes got wide as she sat down next to her, resting one hand on her shoulder.  
  
She sniffed. "Your father's had a stroke; he's not doing so well right now."  
  
As soon as her mom said that Trish bit her lip to keep the tears from coming. Her hand was shaking as she told her mom she'd be there as soon as possible and as soon as she hung up, Trish Stratus, one of the most dominant females in the WWE, burst into tears and didn't stop crying until Lita had driven them about half way there. By then the noises had died down to a quiet sniffle.  
  
Lita looked worried. "Trish, don't worry. I'm sure he's going to be fine and out of there in no time." Trish didn't respond and Lita sighed as she pulled into one of the parking spaces. She gently pulled her distraught friend from the car and winced as Trish put her hand in a death grip.  
  
The two girls entered into the front lobby and were immediately met by Trish's older brother Jacob.  
  
Trish detached herself from Lita and now threw her arms around her brother's neck instead. He started rubbing her back softly. "He's going to be fine Sis. He doctor said he's alert and oriented and I'm sure you can go see him now. I think Aunt Lynn is up there now."  
  
"Trish, I'm going to get going. You'll be fine now." Lita said to her friend quietly. She gave her a reassuring hug and disappeared out the front doors.  
  
Jacob took Trish's hand and led her over to the elevator, pressing his thumb against the up button. "He really is doing well. It seemed like he was back to his old self when I was up there a little while ago." He commented as they stepped on.  
  
There was silence as they rode the elevator up and they stepped out as soon as the doors slid open.  
  
"It's this way." Jacob directed, pointing towards the last room on the left. "I'm going to go see how Mom's holding up but come get me if you need me."  
  
Trish smiled bravely and walked towards the room. It wasn't until she reached the door did she realize she was holding in her breath and exhaled slowly. She reached over and knocked on the door.  
  
"It's open!"  
  
"Daddy it's me." She said quietly, stepping into the room timidly. She saw him set the newspaper he was reading down and slipped his glasses down until they were resting on the bridge of his nose.  
  
He studied her for what seemed like a good ten minutes and then looked back up at her face. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I gotta call from Mom and she said you had a stroke." Trish replied, her voice shaking.  
  
He narrowed his eyes in a way that would have made Vince McMahon himself proud. "I thought I told you last July that I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here?"  
  
*  
  
'Cuz we lost it all  
  
Nothing lasts forever  
  
I'm sorry  
  
I can't be perfect  
  
*  
  
Although it had been the answer Trish was expecting and waiting for, it still felt like someone shot a cannonball at her stomach. "I'm here because I'm your daughter." She whispered, her lower lip quivering.  
  
"As soon as you entered that company and felt it fitting to parade yourself around like a slut with those men, I had no daughter." He said evenly and with no remorse.  
  
"But Da-"  
  
"Get out of my room." He cut in sharply. "And I never want to see you again unless you come to the realization that what you're doing is immoral and degrading and get a nice respectable job like your brother."  
  
Trish picked up her purse and fled out of the room, running until she got to a wall which she slid down and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees as the tears poured from her eyes.  
  
She felt a hand underneath her chin and raised her eyes to see her mother kneeling in front of her, ready with tissues in hand. "He's still not over it?" She asked.  
  
Trish shook her head and a fresh new batch of tears erupted. Her mom wrapped her arms around her shoulders and began lightly rubbing her hair. "Shh, Trish Sweetie you will be fine. You're going to bounce back from this and be ten times the person you are now."  
  
"I, I never meant to disappoint him." She hiccupped. "I just wanted to make him proud."  
  
"He is proud of you Trish." Her mom insisted and she laughed bitterly. "I'm serious. I believe that deep down your father is immensely proud of you and he just has a weird way of showing it."  
  
"And I'm never going to be good enough for him." Trish pressed on. "Because no matter what I do, I can never compare to Jacob the businessman. He's so proud of him and I disappoint him." She whispered. "I've always just wanted him to be proud of me, and now he's vowing that he has no daughter. Mommy what happened? What did I do wrong?"  
  
Trish's mom's heart broke in two at the sight of her only daughter's pain, her heart crushed and tears dripping down her cheeks. She pulled Trish closer to her and wrapped her arms around protectively. "I don't know Sweetie. But I promise I will always be there for you."  
  
*  
  
Now it's just too late  
  
And we can't go back  
  
I'm sorry  
  
I can't be perfect  
  
*  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Up Next: Chapter 2 - John Cena, due by the end of the week.  
  
Shameless Plea: I really hope you guys enjoy this story and please read and review! There's going to be a total of three different wrestlers covered in this story, Trish Stratus, John Cena, and finally Jackie Gayda. Keep a look out for the rest coming soon! 


	2. John Cena

Damn, am I good or what. I told you it'd be up by Friday and here it is, Friday afternoon. Thank you all so much for the positive feedback I got on Trish's chapter but I hope you guys like this one just as much. I like to hear from ya!  
  
*Disclaimer* This is not a biography of John Cena's life. I do not know how he grew up but I'm almost certain this didn't happen. It's all fiction so please don't take this information and post it on a site or group saying this is how he grew up because it didn't really happen. Thank you.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*  
  
I try not to think  
  
About the pain I feel inside  
  
Did you know you used to be my hero?  
  
*  
  
"I want to be a professional wrestler."  
  
The conversation around the dining room table came to a halt as everyone in the family looked at eighteen year old John Cena.  
  
"You.you want to do what?" His dad sputtered out while his mom remained silent and his younger sister giggled.  
  
John looked around and swallowed dryly. "I want to be a wrestler, like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair."  
  
"So are you going to go to college for this?" His mom asked finally, setting her glass on the table and folding her hands.  
  
"I don't think so. There's this training facility in Tennessee that I applied to." He started off nervously. "And I got the acceptance letter yesterday in the mail. If it's okay with you guys I'm going to start in the fall."  
  
"Absolutely not." His dad said automatically. "I will not have my son running around, acting like a Hulk Hogan wannabe.  
  
John rolled his eyes. "Dad there can only be one Hulk Hogan. And I don't see why it should be a problem. This is my life-not yours."  
  
"That may be, but I'm looking out for the family and I don't want you to be an embarrassment to them all." He countered. "Can you imagine what your grandmother would think if she saw you wrestling on TV? She'd think you were a complete failure."  
  
"She already thinks you're a complete failure." John muttered and his dad's face turned red with anger.  
  
"You know what? I don't care what you do with your life." He thundered. "You can make a complete ass out of yourself for all I care, but get out of my house and don't you even think about coming back!"  
  
*  
  
All the days you spent with me  
  
Now seem so far away  
  
And it feels like you don't care anymore  
  
*  
  
"So how are things going over there?" John's mom whispered into the phone.  
  
He looked around the dorm he had to share with two other guys and shrugged. "They're going okay I guess. The trainers are saying I'm progressing really fast. Mom, why are you whispering?"  
  
"You're father doesn't think I should be getting in touch with you." She replied. "He kept mentioning something about how this was your decision and if you felt ready to leave home then you shouldn't expect calls or any other type of contact."  
  
"But that's stupid. Why-"  
  
"I'm not going to argue with him about this." She interrupted him. "Now tell me, are they feeding you alright? I could send you one of those care packages with cookies and soup and fried chicken or something."  
  
"Fried chicken?" John asked skeptically. "No thanks Mom, trust me, that's not necessary."  
  
"Would you even know if you were malnourished?" She quipped.  
  
"I'm not going to have to worry about that." John said. "When I get hungry, I eat. I'm still living off that 32 pack of those Ramen noodles that you bought me before I left. I'll be fine. But how's everything going over there? I mean, besides Dad acting like a complete ass."  
  
"We're holding up." She said. "John, I have to go. You're father just walked in and he looked like he had a bad day. I love you sweetie, I call you next week."  
  
"Love you too Mom. Bye."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Congratulations John. We've looked over and over your videos and recommendations, and we feel that you have what it takes to become a WWF wrestler."  
  
John sat, dumbfounded, as the two men in front of him broke the news and slid a written contract over in his direction. "You're hiring me?" He said finally.  
  
"We believe you would be a good asset to the company. So yes, we're offering you a position in the company."  
  
"But out of all those guys and girls out there, you chose me?" John repeated, more for his benefit then anyone else's. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts and he turned back to the men with a smile on his face. "I mean, of course I'll take your offer. This is incredible; I'm in shock right now I think." He shakily signed his name on the line and the jumped up, shaking their hands. "Thank you so so much, you have no idea how much this means to me."  
  
*  
  
And now I try hard to make it  
  
I just want to make you proud  
  
I'm never gonna be good enough for you  
  
I can't stand another fight  
  
And nothing's alright  
  
*  
  
John knocked on the front door of his house a few days later, more excited then nervous at the idea of seeing his father. He bounced from one foot to another nervously and looked up when the door was opened.  
  
His mom's mouth dropped open when she saw him and she threw her arms around his neck, covering his face and cheeks with kisses. She then held him away at arm's length. "Look at you, you look so in shape happy and excited and I don't remember the last time I saw you looking like that."  
  
"Jill, who's at the door?" His dad asked as he came around the corner, his voice fading when he caught sight of John standing there with his bags in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. "What the hell are you doing here? We both agreed you were to never set foot in this house again."  
  
John turned to his mom, completely ignoring the words that came from his dad's mouth. "The WWF offered me a contract and I accepted. I'm officially wrestling for the greatest sports entertainment business in the world."  
  
"I'm so proud of you John." She said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"John, I'd like to talk to you for a second in the study." His father said tersely. He swallowed nervously and followed the man into the room.  
  
John shut the door behind him and turned back around and was immediately backhanded by his dad. He shakily put his hand to the side of his face and blinked back tears as he looked at his dad, confusion filling his eyes.  
  
"I told you to never come here again." His dad said dangerously, approaching John. "And you completely disobeyed me and now you have to be punished. But none of your training will work here, since wrestling is nothing but fake." And with that, he grabbed John by both arms and threw him against the stone wall, his head bouncing back and hitting a jutting piece of rock.  
  
John felt the blood that was dripping from the back of his head, heard his mom calling out in concern, and his dad's reply that they were both fine. But after that his vision turned black and he faded into darkness as he felt a pair of hands tighten around his throat. Before he was completely out of it, he promised himself one thing:  
  
He would bounce back from this and prove all of them wrong.  
  
*  
  
'Cuz we lost it all  
  
Nothing lasts forever  
  
I'm sorry  
  
I can't be perfect  
  
*  
  
"We just saw Brock Lesnar break Zach Gowen's only good leg/ Well I guess Zach should cut his losses and learn to walk on wooden pegs/ It ain't no secret, everyone knew he was gonna get smoked like a joint/ Forget his handicap, Zach sucks because he's from Detroit/ The only time you people look good is at nighttime during a blackout/ This ain't Joe Louis Arena, it's the World's Biggest Crack house"  
  
John Cena stood confidently in the ring with a microphone in his hand and fans cheering from all sides. He had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach and ignored it.  
  
"And please read between the lines, because I'm giving y'all the middle finger/ Detroit's got more white trash than Jerry Springer/ The best part about this city is that I'm leaving here tomorrow/ You think I suck? Well I know you swallow/ WORD LIFE!"  
  
And as he stood there waiting for his opponent for the evening to come out, a million emotions assaulted him at once. There was still a small scar at the top of his neck from the stone and also one right below his left eye from his dad's angry backhand. He had never felt more scared in his entire life and not just for himself, but for his mom and sister as well. What happened to them when he was away/  
  
John leaned against the ropes and rested his head in his hands, trying to block the impending headache. So what if he had proved them all wrong like he intended to? It had cost him the only male, authority figure he had in his life and to his father, he might as well be dead.  
  
*  
  
Now it's just too late  
  
And we can't go back  
  
I'm sorry  
  
I can't be perfect  
  
*  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Now I do apologize if mentions of child abuse offends someone, that was not my intention nor was it the main focus of the story. I hope that didn't taint the good things you were thinking before reading that part but if it did, once again, I apologize.  
  
NY BrAt 007 


	3. Jackie Gayda

Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out! I've been soo swamped with school and work that I've just had no time to write, except at 1 in the morning. Go figure. Anyway, read and I hope y'all enjoy and make sure to leave me some feedback, good or bad!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
* ~~Nothing's gonna change the things that you said  
  
~~And nothing's gonna make this right again *  
  
Jackie stood at the front door of her parent's two story brick house excitedly and rang the door bell. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and started jumping up and down a bit to keep warm when the door was pulled open slowly, casting Jackie in the warm yellow glow.  
  
"Oh it's so terrific to see you!" Her mom exclaimed, pulling her closer and into the house. She held Jackie away at arms length and smiled. "Jackie, you look beautiful. My little girl has grown all up." She added quietly, putting her hand over her mouth.  
  
"Thanks Mom." She smiled, and then looked over her mom's shoulder and out into the room. "Where's Dad?"  
  
"Oh you know your father; he's probably around here somewhere watching TV." She said dismissively. "Here, I'll bring your stuff up to your room and you can go find him because I'm positive he's missed you as much I have."  
  
Jackie hung her coat up in the closet and slipped off her boots. She peered around the corner and saw his back facing her. He was sitting next to one of his friends and they were both watching as Sunday Night Heat came on the television. She opened her mouth to tell him how much she missed him when the words caught in her throat.  
  
"Can you believe that? That used to be my precious Jackie."  
  
"I know Tom."  
  
"She was going to go to college before getting accepted on to that damn Tough Enough show and now look at her! She's out there in front of thousands of people dressing and acting like a damn slut. Everybody's laughing at her because she's out their acting as queer as that fag she's walking to the ring with. Look at those pants! Every guy in that row is staring at her ass and she's smiling about it."  
  
* ~~Please don't turn your back  
  
~~I can't believe it's hard  
  
~~Just to talk to you  
  
~~But you don't understand *  
  
Jackie felt a hand on her shoulder but didn't turn around, instead feeling the burning tears that threatened to fall.  
  
"Tom." Her mother said quietly.  
  
He turned around to face his wife and his eyes got wide when he saw Jackie standing there next to her, looking as if her dog just died. "Jackie I-"  
  
"I would like you to apologize right now." Her mom interrupted sharply.  
  
He stood up and walked over to them, an unreadable look on his face. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Apologize to your daughter."  
  
"I most certainly will not because everything I say is the truth and you both know it." He said stubbornly. "She was supposed to be getting into college and making something of herself-"  
  
"I am!" Jackie protested. "I'm doing something I've wanted to do my whole life! Why can't you just seem to accept that fact?" She watched him closely as he got up off the couch and stood in front of her. "And I'm sorry that you don't approve but this is my life. You wanted to become an accountant-I wanted to become a professional wrestler. This was a choice I made by myself."  
  
"Well then you're obviously not capable of making very good decisions." He shot back. "Did you know some guys at the office had pictures of you up in their cubicles? I almost got into a fight at work because some new kid kept talking about you flashing the crowd last week. That is not something that would make a father proud, no matter what way you look at it."  
  
"I'm sorry you had to stick up for me like that but that's still not going to change my mind about anything." She said stubbornly. "Now it's your choice Daddy. Are you going to turn your back on your only daughter for doing something she's always wanted to do or will you be proud of me?"  
  
Tom pointed a shaky finger at the TV where, once again, Jackie was pulling down her shirt for Rico to gain the victory. "That-that will never make me proud of you." He said evenly as he walked by her and out the front door. Minutes later, his tires could be heard pealing out of the driveway and Jackie sighed before turning back to her mom.  
  
"Could you try and talk to him for me?" She half-pleaded, half-whispered, ignoring the hair that had gotten free from her headband and was now hanging down in front of her eyes. "I want to try and talk to him but I can't stay, not right now, not with him still in that mind-set." She pulled on her jacket and wiped her hands over her eyes to brush away any tears threatening to fall. "I'm sorry Mom. I have to go."  
  
* ~~'Cuz we lost it all  
  
~~Nothing lasts forever  
  
~~I'm sorry  
  
~~I can't be perfect *  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
What'd ya think? Would you want to see some kinda epilogue, just to say what's happened to the three and the relationships w/ their fathers? It's up to you guys, I'm game either way.  
  
READ & REVIEW! 


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